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Posted: 3/16/2017 9:10:39 PM EDT
Anyone make it and have a tried and true recipe?

I love the stuff, but at $6 for a small jar I'm wondering if I can do better.  I tried a recipe I found online, but it smelled like something between raw sewage and a well aged dumpster juice.  Although I've never tasted raw sewage or dumpster juice, I'm pretty sure what I made would have been less appetizing.  
Link Posted: 3/16/2017 11:18:22 PM EDT
[#1]
Without knowing what recipe you used it's hard to say why it tasted the way it did. 

One thing I've found which makes mine good is this  Are you fermeting or just leaving it out and then refrigerating it.
Link Posted: 3/17/2017 12:02:53 AM EDT
[#2]
Fermented in a 1Q jar with an airlock top.  I did use some of that pepper (not that brand, but the same thing).  I can't find the recipe I used, but it was WAY too salty and tasted and smelled like something went very wrong.  Contamination, maybe?
Link Posted: 3/17/2017 11:57:55 AM EDT
[#3]
When fermenting foods, sanitation is of the highest importance.   Think about how you treat canning jars, lids etc. when you can.  Those are subjected to heat which kills bacteria. 

Fermentation lacks any heat to kill pathogens and relies upon cleanliness. 
Link Posted: 3/17/2017 4:55:52 PM EDT
[#4]
Try an Asian food store for cheaper and more variety.

Making kimchi is a bit harder than making sauerkraut but the fermentation is the same.

It stinks while it ferments. Don't go by smell as to how edible it is.

I make both, and am pretty sloppy with my sanitation but have not had any problems with other bugs. You do need to keep it covered properly. If you are worried about that use a starter from a previous batch or from the store bought. 

The main key is ANAEROBIC conditions with no oxygen or air getting IN.  You can use a jar and air lock, do a "wet" ferment with a float cover or just use a big mixing bowl and cap the fermenting kimchi off with seran wrap. (Sauce on ingredients wet at the bottom of the bowl, seran pressed down onto it and up the sides of the bowl, then loosely cover.

Use a quality fish sauce, not the super salty "LaChoy" crap from the regular grocery.
Link Posted: 3/17/2017 5:08:37 PM EDT
[#5]
Yes I make it.  You have to tailor a recipe to your liking.  I got some brine shrimp and napa cabbage at the Asian grocer and went from there.  I picked up a DDD recipe and let it ferment a while.  It was actually much more harsh than I liked and ended up adding a touch of brown sugar and apple cider vinegar to mellow out the flavor.  It turned out pretty damn good.  

It is best to salt and dehydrate the leaves a bit before the ferment starts.  Some recipes don't spell this out.

As you use it, make sure it remains completely covered with liquid in the jar.  

I saved the old kimchi jar from the store to make new batches.
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